Helldivers 2’s Laser weapons don’t deliver on their powerful potential

Laser weapons have been in the bottom tier of Helldivers 2 since release, and they deserve to be some of the best.

Helldivers 2 has a great variety of weapons, with new guns and other types of ordinance being added constantly. However, there’s one weapon type that has been a huge letdown since launch: Lasers.

Their ability to keep a steady rate of fire just hasn’t been enough to compensate for their low damage output and without much armor penetration. The only bright spot has really been the Laser Cannon Stratagem which can do decent enough damage when called.

This has led to the Laser weapons falling out of favor and being put on the backburner as I’m forced to find other, less fun options that are more viable.

In a futuristic, sci-fi game, Laser weapons need to feel cool when using them, and the trailers showing off the weapons certainly give off that impression. However, actually using them in-game is far from what the trailer’s footage seemed to promise.

Sure, using Laser weapons looks cool, but that has to be met visible, visceral feedback. If a person sees that the weapon looks powerful, but feels the opposite when using it, that’s just style over substance. And damn could Helldivers 2’s lasers use some substance. As it stands, many of the game’s Laser weapons are glorified paperweights.

This game is at its best when it’s able to combine those two things, style and substance, which it does in spades at most times. For instance, the Hellbomb looks awesome as it destroys entire buildings and ships, but it also feels powerful as you see the destruction when the smoke clears.

Laser weapons don’t have that. I want to see the Terminids ignite, or the Automatons melt as the wrath of my beam tears them apart; not this meager beam of light just poking them as they continue to advance.

This is not a small issue, either, as the game’s community has been discussing these guns ever since Helldivers 2 released. Some believe the weapon should do more damage the longer it’s fired, others want to see weak points appear where the lasers hit. Players are getting crafty with how they want buffs here and trying to recommend ways that devs could make the weapon better without a flat damage buff.

But, the important thing is that change is needed here for the weapon category. As they are, Laser weapons are just not cutting it. It’s a shame, too. The devs clearly put a lot of time into making them look great.

In a game where everything feels so bombastic and in your face, having a batch of weapons that feel so underwhelming is a sore spot that will continue to stick out unless something is done.